Hongchiba National Forest Park

Natural Landscape

Hongchiba National Forest Park is one of the 26 national parks in Chongqing, and is about 490 km away from the Chongqing urban area.

Hongchiba is located in northwest Wuxi. It consists of six distinct functional districts, almost all of which are are virgin areas, with some areas under construction to accommodate tourism and services. According to the etymology, the name of this park as used today dates back to the Warring States Period, when it was named "Wanqinchi" and a time when Huangxie, a famous person in ancient China, lived.

Geologically, it has a typical karst topography, which is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. Although subterranean drainage limits surface water to a few rivers and lakes, this huge park contributes water sources to four main trunk steams within the county: the Ren River, the Tangxi River, the Xixi River and the Houxi River, all of which flow into the Yangtze River. One part of these subterranean rivers , called Xiliuxi (which means flowing towards the west), breaks through the surface and later becomes the head-stream of the Tangxi River. The rain here is abundant because the park lies in the central lowlands of the Ta-pa Mountains, which go from west to east, and differs from the yellow river basin of the Yangtze River basin, and lies in the path of seasonal monsoon rains. The altitude ranges from 1600 meters to 2630 meters, resulting in a relatively cool daytime summer temperature, which is about 8 °C lower than the temperature in metropolitan Chongqing. The cold of winter brings snow coverage from 50 to 80 centimeters deep and usually lasts from late November to early February.